Fallen Fairies
by Wasabi-kun
Summary: The Grand Magic Games have ended in victory for Fairy Tail. The fairies celebrate, but all is not well within the capital city Crocus. The world as we know it is in danger, and Lucy is the key to unlocking the greatest evil that has ever existed. Will Natsu and the rest of Fairy Tail save her in time, or will they all be consumed by the darkness? ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
1. Chapter 1: Wake Me Up Before You Go

**It's a bird, it's a plane! No, it's NaLu!**

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Chapter 1: Wake Me Up Before You Go

**Lucy's POV**

I watched as everyone partied it out in the little bar, stumbling left and right in their euphoric happiness. They had a good reason for it, too. It had been a little over a day since we had just barely won the Grand Magic Games against the other six teams, with Fairy Tail miraculously in first place. It was all thanks to my nakama's strong will and undying spirit, though luck was on our side as well. Since Raven Tail had been disqualified from the Games, there were only six teams to go against (not counting Fairy Tail B, since the committee made us squeeze the teams together).

I sat at the bar alone, lost in thought. That is, until a certain pink-haired dragonslayer shocked me out of my reverie. Taking advantage of my spacing out, he had wrapped his arm around my shoulder and whispered, "Hey Lucy."

"KYYYYYAAAAAAAAAA!"

"KAKAKAKAKAKA! You should've seen the look on your face, Lucy!"

I could feel my heart slowing down after I realized who it was; my idiotic partner and best friend, Natsu Dragneel. Then I remembered that his arm was wrapped around my shoulders. My face heated up and I tried to force the unwanted blush away. I hurriedly pushed his arm off and turned to face him. "Damn it, Natsu! Don't scare me like that!"

He gave me a pout. "But Lucyyyyyy! It was really funny!" His child-like behavior was so adorable and immature that I couldn't help but laugh, my serious face shattered in an instant. He really is an idiot, but he is so cute when he acts like that. When he saw my grin, he immediately returned it with his signature goofy smile. God, how I love that smile.

I shook my head internally. '_No, bad Lucy! Think about something else. Having fun. Partying. Anything but that._' Then I realized I had no idea what he had come to bother me for.

"Natsu, why did you come over here anyway? You should be having fun with everybody else!"

He gave me a look that said '_Are you fucking crazy?_'.

"What's with that look?" I asked him, frowning.

"Well, I was just thinking that it's not really a celebration without everyone, Lucy."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that it's not a party without you, even though you're injured! What did you think I meant?"

I blushed at his words. '_I guess I really do mean a lot to him— I mean, them._' A moment of euphoric bliss spread through me and my heart almost flew out of my chest.

"After all, you ARE my nakama! You're such a weirdo!" At this, my heart felt like it was stabbed lightly and I could feel the happy bubble pop as my temper flared.

"Don't call me weird! I'm not the one who eats fire and was raised by a dragon!"

He just laughed at my angry reddened face and sent me another one of his blindingly bright smiles. Did I already mention that I love that smile? I shook my head at him and waved him away, wincing when I moved my left arm.

"Don't worry about me, go have some fun. Go fight with Gray or something. This is probably the only time you two will get away with it."

I looked pointedly over at Erza, who seemed to be extremely preoccupied at the back of the bar. She was sitting in the far corner with Jellal; they were looking at each other meaningfully, their eyes conveying a mutual love so deep that I could read it even from all the way over at the counter. I also noticed that they were smiling and, under the table, they were holding hands. Natsu turned to where I was looking and I noticed a shiver run down his spine as he caught sight of the scarlet-haired mage.

"Y-yeah... But are you sure you'll be alright over here?" I thought the concern he showed in his expression was so sweet, especially since I was still wearing bandages from the beating I took from Minerva on the fourth day's naval battle. Thanks to Porlyusica and Wendy, I didn't die, but my body was still in a lot of pain. I smiled widely at him and nodded.

"Of course I'll be fine! I'll join the celebration in a bit, okay?"

"Okay! See you later then!" He scampered into the crowd of mages, yelling when he found Gray.

"Oi, droopy eyes!"

"What did you call me, slanty eyes?"

"You heard me, ice pervert."

"Get ready to get your ass beat, flame brain."

"I think you're the one who's ready for an ass-kicking. But first you should put some clothes on, stupid stripper!"

"What the hell are you talking abo— Hey! How did that happen?"

Gray scrambled around butt-naked, searching for his clothes. Natsu laughed as he stood on a table swinging Gray's boxers around his finger.

"Hey, ice princess! Look what I've got!"

"Flametard, give me my goddamn boxers back!"

"Hey, idiots! Stop fighting! We're not even at the guild, so stop breaking s— AAAH!"

The guy unlucky enough to get caught between the two idiots fighting was smashed by their fists and flew into a table of my nakama. Thus, yet another brawl was started. I sighed and turned back to the bar, laying my head onto the bar counter.

Thank god Natsu had left; I felt like I couldn't breathe when he was around, more so than when my ribcage was crushed (which is saying a lot). My heart's been acting up whenever I'm around him and my stomach always feels like it's doing backflips. I've been trying to deny it, but... it's so obvious that I should just scream it to the world.

I, Lucy Heartfilia, am in love with my best friend. There, I said it.

I've actually felt this way about him for a while. I would tell him my feelings, but I have several good reasons not to do so. The first reason is that you aren't supposed to fall in love with your best friend. It's like the number one unwritten rule of love. The second reason is that Natsu is too dense to understand what love is. He WAS raised by a dragon, after all. He'd probably call it like-like, just like a little kid.

Besides, I don't even know if he feels the same way about me. He could like someone else, which leads me to reason number three. I know that Natsu and Lisanna had a special relationship before Lisanna 'died'. I saw how happy he looks when he's with her and I don't think he could ever be like that with me. I don't want to get in the way of their happiness. I thought we had a few moments that could be considered more than platonic, but I guess he doesn't think of me the same way. After all, he only thinks of me as nakama. I guess that we're just never meant to be.

I sighed, unhappy in my thoughts, until I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

—

**Lucy's POV**

I woke up groggily, my head spinning and the left side of my face numb. I was disoriented for a moment before I realized that whatever I had laid my head on was not the soft pillow on my bed, nor was I laying down on a bed at all. I attempted to stand up, wincing as I felt a numb pain spread through my bones and hearing several cracks as I stretched out my limbs.

I looked at my surroundings in confusion until I registered the previous night. We were still in Crocus and we'd had a victory party at the Honeybone Bar. I must've slept through the whole party. I yawned and rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes. Surveying the bar, I chuckled as I looked at the familiar scene of my nakama after an awesome party. Max, as usual, had a broom up his ass. How that happened, I have no idea.

I giggled when I saw some very interesting sights as I looked around. Mira was laying down on Fried's chest, both of them breathing slowly with small smiles on their faces. Elfman was clutching Evergreen in his arms, his large biceps pushing her glasses askew. Juvia appeared to have fainted on an unconscious Gray's legs, a look of absolute bliss across her face. Cana was slumped over a barrel, Laxus leaning up against her back as they slept. Romeo and Wendy were curled up under a table, so close to each other that their foreheads were touching. '_Kawaii!_'

My eyes drifted over to Erza and Jellal, who were in an extremely intimate position on the floor. Jellal had his arms wrapped around Erza's waist, their legs intertwined. Erza's face was lying comfortably on Jellal's arm and, as I watched, they snuggled closer. They were facing toward each other, their lips almost touching. '_It's about time! They look so cute together!_'

I couldn't help the happy pang I felt in my chest as I saw Erza lying next to her beloved. She truly deserves this happiness. They've both had really hard lives and I'm so glad they can finally be together. Jellal had told us about how Mest— no, Doranbalt— had unveiled him in front of Lahar of the Magic Council. He steered clear of the arena after that, so this was the first time Erza had seen him in over three days. Needless to say, they were enjoying each other's company.

I looked on to the right of the sleeping couple and my heart fluttered. Natsu was snoring on the floor spread-eagled, Happy laying next to him in the same position. I smiled softly and walked over to them quietly, not that anyone could hear me over Natsu's snores. I knelt down near his head and studied his sleeping features. '_He's so cute when he's asleep,_' I thought.

I kept my body a foot or so from his own, remembering the incident where he punched me through the guild's roof and into the river. I was still mad about that, but it wasn't his fault. I chuckled to myself, remembering the good times we'd had. I didn't realize that, as I was immersed in my thoughts, I stretched my uninjured hand out and ran it through his hair. '_I've always wondered what his hair feels like... Wait, what am I doing?_'

I finally noticed that my hand was in his hair and I yanked it back, but I accidentally pulled a few strands of his surprisingly soft pink hair. His eyes flew open and he sat up, looking right at me; I froze.

"Lushy... lemme shleep..."

His eyes closed and he laid back down, spread-eagled once more. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and stood up. '_God, that was too close._' I sighed and began to walk away. Before I had even taken the first step, though, Natsu grabbed my hand and yanked me down to the floor. I yelped and struggled as his arms circled around me, his face nuzzling into my neck.

"N-Natsu," I said, my face turning redder with every second that passed. "You stupid sleeping idiot, let me go!" I pushed his arms as far away from me as I could, squirming all the way. It's not that I didn't enjoy having him hug me closer, it's just that I was afraid of someone waking up and making fun of our close proximity. That or my ribs would be broken again by his bear hug. I finally managed to pull myself out of his iron grip just before Happy woke up.

The blue cat sat up, yawning as he rubbed his eyes. He noticed me looking flustered, my hair messy, as I stood up yet again. Happy smiled and toddled over, rubbing his face on my leg. "Lushy... 'm tired..."

"Hey there, sleepyhead," I giggled as I knelt down and picked him up, cradling him against my chest. He let his face rest on my breasts as though they were pillows and sighed in content. I held him for a bit longer, rocking him gently until he began to snore lightly, then set him down on Natsu's chest. Happy turned over onto his stomach and hugged Natsu tightly.

Now that both of them were asleep again, I stood and returned to my place at the bar. My face heated up as I remembered what had taken place just minutes before. I slapped myself, determined to keep myself in line; I winced at the pain in my cheek and in my barely-healed left hand. I blew a stray hair out of my eyes and noticed that my pigtails had come undone. I huffed before fixing them back up once again. '_I can't wait to wear my ribbon again,_' I thought, '_These pigtails are getting kind of boring._'

Suddenly, an idea came to me through the snores of my nakama. '_I can use this time to work on my novel and try to get Natsu out of my head! Yes, good idea Lucy!_' I pulled my novel out my bag, which had been sitting on the stool next to mine, and began to write. I was so into my writing that I didn't notice someone coming up behind me.

**Normal POV**

The hooded stranger snuck up from behind and, with one quick spell and a small yelp, knocked the blond out without any struggle. Papers slid to the floor as the stranger gently dragged Lucy off of the barstool and to the floor, trying to make as little noise as possible. At the same time, they checked to make sure that the celestial spirit mage's keys and whip were safely stowed away in a small magic-proof bag.

At the doorway Lucy and the bag were passed to a group of what were unmistakably palace guards, who lifted the blond with magic and carted her off to who-knows-where. The strange figure was last to leave. As the stranger turned to close the door, they lifted the hood of their cloak away to reveal a young woman with short white hair. '_I am sorry, Lucy-san, Natsu-san, but this is for the sake of the new world._'

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**So... whadda ya think? I know, I know. I should be working on my other story... but I cant help it! I see all these other fics about Lucy's part in the Magic Games Arc and I kept getting my own ideas. Plus, I've been having writer's block until I started typing this up! I can't keep going on with S&R if I have no ideas... I'm sorry!**

**Anyway, review and tell me if it was any good, should I keep going, blah-blah blah blah-blah... you get it. I really am sorry, since this probably isn't what anyone was expecting. Next time I update, it'll definitely be for S&R. Please hang in there and review!**

**Bi-kun out! Peace!**


	2. Chapter 2: Something's Missing

**You guys... I'm so happy that my story got so many good reviews! I think I'm gonna cry! *sniff* Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and read this story! I seriously love you guys!**

**As a treat, here's the new chappy! I'm sorry. I promised that next time, I would update for ****S&R****, but I can't just abandon this story when I have the ideas fresh in my mind! I'm so sorry to anyone who was looking forward to a new chappy of ****S&R****!**

**Also, I forgot the disclaimer last time. Here it is: I **_**do**__**not**_** own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, Hiro Mashima-sama does. I really wish I **_**did**_** own them, though... TT_TT**

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Chapter 2: Something's Missing...

**Normal POV**

Captain Arcadios paced the length of his office, muttering quietly. His subordinate, the name of whom he hadn't a clue, looked up at him in fear. Finally, the captain burst. "What is taking that Private so damn long?"

Right on cue, there was a knock at the door. The subordinate rushed to the door and opened it swiftly, revealing a uniformed young woman with short white hair. The captain visibly relaxed and a small, frightening grin rose to his lips. "Ah, Private. I was waiting for you. Come in, come in."

The white-haired woman shuddered lightly as she stepped into the large room. She looked around in silence, not letting her gaze rest on the other occupants of the room. Arcadios looked at his quaking subordinate and sneered. "Get out. We have important matters to discuss."

His subordinate nodded and rushed out of the room, all too happy at the prospect of leaving the creepy man behind. Arcadios scoffed, then turned to the woman, who turned to face him as he spoke. "Private, I believe you received my orders?"

"Yes, Captain."

"And?"

"The mission was a success."

"Good. Were you detected?"

"No, sir. The mission was carried out with the utmost care and secrecy."

"Excellent. It's no wonder you are the leader of the Reconnaissance and Infiltration Squad. Thanks to you, we have the Celestial Mage! After seven long years of waiting, the Eclipse Plan will finally come to fruition."

The woman nodded, showing no emotion as the captain began to cackle evilly. Arcadios cackled for a few minutes, reveling in his genius plot, until the private cleared her throat. He glared at her, interested as to why she had interrupted his cackling time. She looked at him, a flicker of what seemed like concern in her eye, and muttered something softly.

"What was that?"

"What... what will happen to Lucy-san?"

The captain strode to his desk and sat down, crossing his arms as he glared at his underling. "That is none of your concern, Private. Are we clear?"

The woman gulped and nodded, her face returning to its usual emotionless state. Arcadios smiled evilly and said, "Now go. I have important matters to attend to." She saluted and turned to the door, exiting quietly as the captain began to cackle again.

* * *

The woman let out a sigh of relief. '_That man scares the crap out of me._' Sighing again, she began to walk down the corridor of the military HQ toward the training center. Searching in her pockets, she frowned as she didn't find what she was looking for. '_That's right...they took my keys and put them with Lucy-san's. I wonder what they want her for._'

She pondered the captain's words as she rearranged the large rose in her hair, preparing herself for a round at the shooting range. '_He told me that the Eclipse Plan was going to change the world and that we needed a strong Celestial Mage to help, but he didn't explain what the changes would be...He wouldn't even tell me why they needed my keys._'

She sighed and muttered to herself, "Crazy-ass commanders..." She took aim at the target dummy. "I can't wait to get this over with."

**BANG!**

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**Natsu POV**

I woke up to the sounds of laughter and glass breaking. Opening my eyes, I saw my nakama laughing, drinking, and having a good time. Grinning, I sat up and yawned, wincing at the sudden pain in my back. '_Damn, my back hurts! Ah well, guess that's what I get for passing out on the floor._'

I jumped up unfazed and laughed as I saw Gray running away from Erza, butt-naked yet again. Ah, I love my nakama. My senses scanned over everything, relishing the crazy tactics of my family. But I noticed something was off. I looked around at everyone, trying to pinpoint where the weird feeling was coming from. I was knocked out of my concentration when that stupid stripper ran in to me; we both fell to floor.

I immediately stood up, at the same time as him no less, and rammed my head into his; we glared at each other. "Dammit, ice princess! What the hell was that for?"

"What'd you call me, flame idiot?"

"You heard me, popsicle!"

"Shut up, fire freak!"

"Make me, ice pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert, flame brain!"

"Then why are you naked? Male stripper, that's pretty gay."

"At least _my_ hair isn't pink! Pink hair, now _that's_ gay!"

"You wanna say that to my face?"

"I just did, Pinky."

"Why you-"

Suddenly, there was an intense pain in my stomach and I couldn't breathe. I fell to the floor and saw Gray in the same position. '_Weak..._' I thought in pain. I saw his face twisted in terror and I turned to see what he was looking at. I looked up and, to my absolute horror, saw Erza standing above us. She held two swords, one of which was pointed at me and the other at Gray.

Erza glared at us and I couldn't hold in a squeak of fear. Gray made a similar noise right beside me, and I swear I saw Erza smirk darkly. "Now boys, you shouldn't fight. It's bad for friends to fight, so don't do it again. Do I make myself clear?"

Gray and I nodded simultaneously, not wanting to go through another one of Erza's 'punishments'. She nodded and her swords disappeared; helping us up as though nothing had happened, she said, "I wanted to tell you, I feel so odd. It's like there's something missing, don't you agree? I was trying to figure out what it was, but I can't put my finger on it."

Gray nodded. "Yeah, I felt the same when I woke up. I thought it was just 'cause Juvia was sleeping on my legs, but I can still feel it." I nodded, a serious look on my face. Then, I brightened up as a great idea struck me. "Hey, why don't we ask Lucy? She's probably smart enough to figure it out!"

"Speaking of which, where _is_ Lucy?"

Erza and Gray jumped as a voice came from above us. I had heard Happy coming, so I wasn't surprised when he swooped down and landed on my head. I did, however, think about his question. Where was Lucy? I looked to Erza, who had a troubled look on her face, then to Gray, who shook his head. I decided to look around for Lucy myself.

"Happy, can you fly me to the roof?"

"Aye!"

As we flew to the roof, which wasn't that high, I used my enhanced Dragonslayer senses to search for my blond partner and teammate. Yes, I know what enhanced means. I'm not stupid... okay, maybe I _am _pretty stupid, but I'm not _that_ stupid.

Anyway, I looked all around the bar for a glimpse of long (_currently pigtailed_) blond hair. Nothing. As I was about to yell for her, I noticed a bag at the bar counter. I could tell it was Lucy's; there were papers strewn on the floor around it and I could visibly see a page full of words on one. '_Hey, that must be Lucy's novel. Why is it all over the floor?_' I pointed the spot out to Happy and he flew me over there, retracting his wings as I jumped down lightly.

I picked up the papers on the ground, which had miraculously been spared from my partying nakama's feet, and shoved them into Lucy's bag. As I did so, I caught a whiff of Lucy's scent. I really like that smell for some reason; it's kind of hard to describe. Lucy smells like vanilla and chocolate, but also something else... something sweet, like cake. I inhaled deeply, letting the weird but sweet smell wash over me.

Lately, I've been having this weird feeling whenever Lucy talks to me, touches me, gets near me, and most especially when she smiles. It's like my whole world brightens up when she smiles and I feel these weird tickles in my stomach... Lucy's weird. Her weirdness must be contagious or something.

Anyway, I was enjoying Lucy's sweet smell (_wow, that makes me sound like a pervert_) until I caught a hint of another familiar scent. It was very faint and I could barely smell it, but it was there. I sniffed around until I found a spot on the bar where majority of the smell was centered. I sniffed hard and finally noticed something.

I recognized it; a white-haired girl came to mind. No, it wasn't Lisanna. It was that other chick, the one whose name starts with a "Y". Yuki? Yeti? Yakima? Yuma? I don't know, but it was definitely suspicious. (_Yes, I know what suspicious means, too. Why do you people insist on forcing stupidity on me?_) Happy must've seen my look of concentration; he looked at me with concern. It was really distracting.

"What?"

"Natsu, are you okay? It looked like you-"

"-were constipated. Is that what your face looks like when you think? 'Cause it's not a good look for you."

I turned to see Gray the Naked Wonder standing behind me. I growled, "What do you want, stripper?" He brushed off my insult like it was nothing and said, "Look, believe it or not, I don't want to fight. We should just focus on finding Lucy." I was tempted to ignore his words and just punch him, but he had a point. '_As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Lucy is priority._'

Gray walked away, saying something about talking to the rest of the guild or something like that. I growled and went back to investigating the crime scene until I heard heavy footsteps coming from behind me, as well as the unpleasant smell of metal. I turned to face my fellow Dragonslayer, wrinkling my nose and growling. "What do you want, Gajeel?"

He just leaned against the bar and spoke quietly, not even acknowledging my challenge. "You're looking for bunny girl, right?" How did he know? He just looked at me and smirked as if he knew something I didn't. "What's it to ya, iron ass?"

I could tell he was really trying to hold back from punching me as he said, "Look, we don't have time to mess around. You can smell that, right? Yeah, I can smell it, too. But I found something else. Follow me." I looked at him as he stalked away, dumbstruck at his unusual willingness to help. He turned and grunted in my direction, impatient. I snapped out of it and followed him out the door of the bar we were partying.

As I stepped out of the loud and musty bar into the crisp morning air, I could tell that the white-haired girl's scent was a bit stronger. It was also mixed with over a dozen other scents that I didn't recognize, all of which were leading down the street. I looked over at Gajeel and was surprised to see him walking away from where the scents were leading; he turned at the alleyway. "Hey, where're you going? The trail goes that way, not over there!"

I ran over to him and he pointed something out to me in a trash pile, something that stopped me in my tracks. It was Lucy's key pouch. I swear that I couldn't breathe. Several scenarios ran through my head; Lucy running away, Lucy dropped her keys and someone thought they were worthless, Lucy was kidnapped and had her keys taken from her so she was defenseless.

Basically, I was freaking out.

Gajeel snapped me out of it by dragging my head closer to the pouch. The first thing I noticed was Lucy's scent. The second, more important thing that I noticed was that her keys were gone. All the panic in me disappeared. Lucy wasn't defenseless, she still had her keys and, now that I thought about it, her whip. Gajeel stalked away wordlessly. I caught up to him just as he was about to walk back into the bar. I needed to ask him something, something important.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you helping out?"

"What, you don't want my help or something?"

"No, I'm really grateful. It's just, why? As far as I can tell, you don't really like me or any of my teammates, so why help us?" He looked at me incredulously. (_Okay, I have no idea what that means. I just thought it sounded smart._) It was like he thought I was stupid or some- Oh wait, he _does_. He sighed and mumbled the answer.

"Lemmrgph bunrgh frrrmm grmm hmph..."

"...What?"

"I said that the bookworm was wondering where bunny girl was and I...I wanted...to...help..." I had to do a double take. Was Gajeel...blushing? '_Hold up...Levy=bookworm...Oh, I see now..._' I smirked at him and he growled, still embarrassed.

"Don't you dare tell anyone I said that, you hear me?" I just laughed at him as he looked at me menacingly. I stopped laughing and winked at him. "Don't worry, I understand." He relaxed and his face returned to its usual asshole-look, except he still had a light tint of pink on his cheeks. He stalked into the bar and Levy immediately walked up to him, cheeks red and a huge smile on her face. The door closed on the happy couple and I was left to my own devices outside, but not before I heard the iron bastard mutter something about an idiot who had to open his eyes. '_Hm, wonder who the idiot is._'

I turned to follow the strange scents that were mixed with the white-haired girl's and Lucy's scents. I ran down the cobblestone path, my scarf flapping behind me as I followed the trail of smells to wherever Lucy was.

'_I'm coming, Lucy. Just hang on._'

* * *

**Normal POV**

In a chamber not so far away from where the Fairies were celebrating, Lucy woke up. '_Ugh...what a crazy dream..._' She attempted to sit up, only to find that she was immobile. She couldn't move anything. It was like she was made out of lead, her body felt so heavy. Her eyes snapped open and she tried to move her head. Her head didn't feel as heavy as the rest of her body. Nope, it felt a _lot_ heavier.

After several unsuccessful attempts to lift her head, she resorted to just using her eyes. Lucy looked at her dark surroundings in silence. She couldn't see much of anything; the walls were an endless black, darker than an abyss. '_Where am I?_' Just as Lucy was about to panic, she heard footsteps coming toward her. A bright light clicked on from directly above, blinding Lucy. A figure stepped into her line of vision, silhouetted against the light.

Lucy couldn't see their facial features, but she flinched at the feeling of a deathly cold hand on her face. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her neck and her body began to slow its functions. "Go back to sleep, little mage. We don't need you yet," said the figure.

Just before she passed out, Lucy's thoughts flew to her nakama. But one face stood out in particular, that of her pink-haired idiotic pyromaniac of a best friend. She mumbled his name before succumbing to the void of sleep.

"Na...tsu..."

* * *

**So, I know there are a few controversial statements in here. For one, the 'gay stripper' thing. Honestly, I have no problem with gay people. I just thought it would be something Natsu would say to insult Gray, which would probably work.**

**Also, sorry if I made anyone OOC in this chappy. It's midnight or something (not that I care, it's fudging summer!) and I just felt like working on this.**

**Another really big "Thank You" to everyone who reviewed, read, added this story to their favorites, subscribed, and anything else that I forgot to mention. Seriously, you guys are so amazing!**

**Please, remember to review (even if you don't have an account)! I'll take any suggestions, spelling/grammar alerts, flames, compliments... Just please review! I really love knowing that I actually have readers!**

**Until next time, don't die in a hole! Bi-kun out!**


	3. Chapter 3: I Saw Everything

**I apologize for not updating for a while... I've been really busy. My grandparents came to the States and constantly insist on dragging me to exercise... I'm exhausted! But enough excuses and complaints, let's get this show on the road!**

**Before I forget, disclaimer! I _do not_ own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima-sama does. If I owned Fairy Tail... well, let's just say that there wouldn't be a lot of changes (but a crapload more fluff).**

**I present, to your entertainment, enjoyment, or hatred, Chapter 3 of Fallen Fairies!**

* * *

Chapter 3: I Saw Everything

**Normal POV**

Erza was worried. It had been almost 24 hours since they'd discovered that Lucy was missing and nobody had seen her yet. She had no idea where Natsu had gone and they needed all of the dragonslayers' noses to sniff Lucy out. Erza kept a calm look on her face, but her insides were filled with turmoil. As she watched her nakama running around, following the orders she barked out, she couldn't help but let her lips tug down into a frown.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around Erza and she jumped into self-defense mode, grabbing the offender's arms and throwing the person over her head. She was surprised to see that, instead of an enemy, she had thrown (_her beloved_) Jellal into a thick wooden table. She rushed to help the groaning man up, wincing at the broken table.

'_I hope he doesn't get mad at me for that...I'm being silly, he wouldn't get mad over something small like that! But...I just threw him into a table! I threw him hard enough to break it! He's going to hate me! ...No, he won't. Our bond is too strong for something like a broken table to get between us...Agh, I feel really bad! Do I apologize? I don't have time for this, we have to find Lucy and Natsu!_'

As Erza stood there awkwardly, her thoughts tumbling in her head, Jellal stood up and took her gauntleted hand. Knowing part of what she was thinking, he pulled her into a tight hug and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, Erza. I have faith in you. Just focus on finding your friends, okay?"

She looked up at him, surprised at his understanding, then her face became serious and she nodded. "You're right. We'll find them. I know it." Then Jellal did something completely unexpected. Whispering again, he said, "You look really cute when you're serious." Erza stared at him, bewildered, as he kissed her cheek and slipped into the crowd of Fairy Tail mages.

Erza lightly rubbed the spot where he had kissed her, marveling at the soft tingle that lingered. It was short-lived, however, because a fight had started about who would be in which search party; Erza immediately became commanding again as she orchestrated her nakama. In all the hustle and bustle of the determined Fairies, nobody noticed the dopey smile that grew on her face.

* * *

**Natsu POV**

I am seriously freaking out now. It's been almost a whole day since I started looking for Lucy; to be honest, I'm exhausted. I haven't found her yet and it's really pissing me off; I followed her scent all over the city and I ended up who-the-heck-knows-where. I sighed and looked at my current surroundings; a dingy gray neighborhood to my left, a boring cobblestone street ahead, and-

"HOLY CRAP! What the _hell_ is _that_?!"

To my right was a really big ornate gate. (_Yes, assholes, I know what ornate means. Give me some credit, would ya? But where was I? Oh yeah, really big gate._) It was freaking _huge_! I tore my eyes away from the gate and looked around it. To either side of the gate was a tall white wall that stretched all the way down the street, far enough that even my superior eyesight wasn't able to see the end.

The gate and walls weren't the only things that shocked me; I finally noticed that there was an enormous shadow looming over me. Looking up, I could feel my jaw literally hit the ground; there was a castle, a _real_ castle, right in front of me.

It wasn't one of those ordinary kind of castles _(y'know, the kind that you don't want to hear about in History class_)_;_ this looked like the result of a full on military barracks that had a kid with a sparkly fairy tale princess tower, and their kid had a kid with a Gothic castle, and _their _kid had a kid with another military barracks. Basically, it was freaking huge and totally freaking awesome.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I bet you're all like, "How could you _miss_ anything that huge?!" Simple: imagine one of the most important things or people to you was stolen or ran away. How would _you_ feel? I know exactly how _I_ felt; I was worried, tired, and I even thought that I would go insane if I didn't find Lucy soon. I might have even broken down like I did when Igneel left, if I didn't attempt to tear the whole city apart first.

'_Why did Lucy come here? How did she even get in?!_' For Lucy's scent led straight through the gate and into the castle. Then it hit me: she _must_ have been kidnapped. How else would she get into an obviously well-guarded castle without a fight? I growled as I thought of what that white-haired girl and her buddies could be doing to her. '_If they even _think_ about hurting Lucy, I will rip them into pieces, burn them to a crisp slowly, and enjoy their drawn out screams of pain..._'

I blinked, knocked out of my disturbingly dark thoughts. '_Whoa_, _that was a pretty violent thought. I'm pretty sure I would've done that for any of my nakama, but somehow it feels worse when Lucy is in trouble...Weird... Her weirdness must be spreading to me again..._'

I shook my head to clear it of any weirdness Lucy passed on to me and returned to glaring at the gate. I could clearly see a whole platoon of guards inside the walls; that's when I decided to actually think of a clever way to sneak in or something. (_Shut up! I can think seriously! I just choose not to think most of the time._)

My eyes scanned over the walls and gate again, searching for a clue or something that could help me figure out a way to get in. Finally, I found something. A really obvious something. Something so obviously helpful that I will willingly call myself a dumbass for not noticing before. My mouth twitched up into a smirk.

'_This would be so much easier if I brought Happy..._'

* * *

**Lucy POV**

I woke up slowly, my body feeling heavier than it did the first time. The stuff that made me fall asleep must be pretty strong; I couldn't even move, and I was barely able to breathe. I could tell the light was still on above me as I could see it through my eyelids, but I couldn't make my eyes open; I laid there, feeling useless and weak. Suddenly, I heard a low whispering kind of sound around me. I don't know if having all my other senses helped my hearing or something, but I could hear pretty well.

Focusing on the murmurs, I strained to understand what was being said; from the sound of it, the speakers were just on the other side of the weakly illuminated room. I tried to remain as still as possible so they wouldn't suspect me of eavesdropping, which wasn't too hard seeing as I couldn't move; finally, I picked up on their conversation _(well, more like argument_).

"-lestial mage! And it was done in just seven years!"

"But how do we know he will cooperate? The fate of the world is at stake!"

"You've been against the Plan the whole time, don't deny it."

"A new world? Greater power? A better future? Those are all lies born of the spirits and human foolishness! You above all people should know that, Captain!"

That's when I realized I had stopped breathing; their conversation had my mind reeling at all the insane implications. '_If that was a captain talking, then this is a secret military...something. But it must be really important and secret. Heck, it's about the fate of the world, of course it's important! But what are they talking about? And what could they possibly want with me?_'

"Do not doubt me; the plan will run smoothly. We have all the necessities: the keys, the sacrifice, the gate. We need only wait for the right time and-"

"Quiet!"

"What is-"

"Be quiet! She's awake!"

I heard their brisk footsteps coming toward me; I sucked in a small breath and attempted to make it look like I was breathing as though I were in a deep sleep. Suddenly, the brightness on my eyelids disappeared and was replaced by shadow; I could hear them breathing above me, obviously looking for a reaction to their presence.

After a few minutes of waiting in tense silence, one of the men (_probably the 'Captain'_) snorted and said, "Sorry, but I think you were just making that up. Nice distraction, but we're still going to talk about this later." He must've been wearing a cape and some high-heeled boots or something, because I heard a 'whoosh' and quick clacking footsteps as he walked away. The man he left behind hesitated, then I heard him sigh and begin to walk away slowly. There was a little 'click' and the light above me turned off, then a door opened and closed with a bang.

Silence again.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and struggled to once again move, which was really taxing on my already screwed up mental capacity. I kept trying though because I knew that I needed to tell someone (_preferably from Fairy Tail_) about their plans. These men were doing something bad that, judging from their conversation, had to do with my gate keys and a sacrifice.

I gave up on moving and let out a sigh of exasperation. My thoughts wandered to wishing and self-pity. '_I wish I was strong enough to break through this...I wish I had my keys...I wish I knew what was going on..._' My tired brain slowly began to lose consciousness again, but just one more thought crossed my mind. Funnily enough, it was the one I seemed to be expecting. As I blacked out, his face swam through my mind and I couldn't help but think,

'_I wish Natsu was here..._'

* * *

**Normal POV**

Gajeel sighed as another complaining session was started between the fat funny-haired one and the orange-haired speedy guy. Why the hell was _he_ with _them_? They were probably the weakest people in Fairy Tail, not to mention they irritated him with their constant fawning over the bookworm... not that he cared about her or anything. He huffed and leaned against a stack of crates, arms folded as he glared at the stupid pair sitting on the ground. Did they _ever_ stop whining?

"-and my feet hurt!"

"So do mine! We should take a break, we've been walking for a long time and-"

"I'm _so_ hungry~!"

Finally, Gajeel had enough. "WILL YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP?! Man up, you little crybabies! You can't even handle a few hours walking around the city, let alone fighting an enemy! You think I want to be here, either?! I'm just doing the bookworm a favor by watching you idiots, I don't _have_ to be here!"

Jet and Droy shut up at his outburst; that was the most he had ever said to them in one sitting. Of course, being a powerful (_and very intimidating_) Dragonslayer was a bonus. Jet and Droy picked themselves up off the ground and slowly shambled over to Gajeel. The group continued on, Gajeel leading; he could hear the two idiots behind him conversing in low whispers, and he could tell _exactly_ what they were saying.

He turned around, smiling darkly at the two fools. "Try it, and I'll pound you into dust." The two shivered and nodded, silent now as they knew the Dragonslayer could hear their every word. Gajeel strode on, sniffing now and then so he wouldn't lose the bunny girl's or the fire-breathing idiot's scents.

'_I knew it...the damn fire freak couldn't even wait for everyone else, he just _had_ to go save the bunny girl. Why the hell do I associate with these freakishly stupid people?_' He shook his head at the Fairies' idiocy. Why did he even stay at Fairy Tail? As far as he could tell, everyone was bat-shit crazy. But he wouldn't lie; the guild had grown on him, especially a certain blue-haired Script mage... not that it mattered or anything.

The Iron Dragonslayer, lost in thoughts about the bookworm, was suddenly overwhelmed by a horrible stench; it smelled like rotting carcasses. Wincing, he covered his nose with both hands and swiftly looked around the ominously empty street for the source; it was coming from his left, and it was close. He felt a heavy pressure settle on his shoulders as the source of the smell came closer; it was the pressure of extremely high levels of magical power, and he already knew it wasn't the good kind.

A figure appeared, darkened by their magic or their own evil aura Gajeel couldn't tell. The figure shuffled slowly down the road, straight toward the brave Dragonslayer and two cowering lackeys. They stopped suddenly, a rock clattering on the pavement beside them. Then, Gajeel could smell something else near the figure. It was a scent he knew very well, one that reminded him of books and orange headbands.

Levy stood to the right of the figure, eyes like those of a deer caught in the headlights of a car, her arm still outstretched from hurling the rock at the strange figure's head area. The figure turned and began to shuffle the small bluenette's way. As Gajeel let out a growl and charged at the dark figure, they raised their hand and a small vortex of darkness appeared. It flew directly at him and the two "men" cowering on the street behind him; Gajeel stood his ground as the two little girls were blown over by the blast.

"Gajeel! Jet! Droy!" Levy cried, running over to her fallen nakama. Jet and Droy had been thrown into the side of a house and were passed out on the floor; Gajeel was coughing violently, dry-heaving from the heavy stench of death and power of the magic. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before; not even Master Jose's Shadow Magic or Rogue's Dragon Force was this disgustingly powerful. Levy heard Gajeel trying to speak through the coughing fit, but she struggled to understand what he was saying.

"Get- *hack* a-awa- *cough* g-go..."

"What? Gajeel, I can't understand you!" He gave her a glare and stifled his coughing long enough to blurt out what he wanted to say.

"Go! Get out of here! Grab those two idiots while I hold him off!" She didn't speak, but he could see in her eyes that she wanted to stay and help rather than abandon him; ignoring the mushy gooey feeling in the pit of his stomach, he looked at her seriously, then at the approaching Dark mage. He _really_ didn't have time for this; he snatched Levy up as she began to protest, picked up both Jet and Droy, and turned his arm into a catapult. Loading them in quickly, he hardly listened to what she was saying.

"Gajeel! Dammit, let me help! I am not leaving you here to fight by yourself! I can hold my own, I'm not weak!" Levy almost screamed at him; Gajeel gave her a silencing look as he was ready to shoot them off.

"I know you aren't weak, bookworm! I just don't want anyone to be unnecessarily injured, especially not you!" At this, Levy blushed, while Gajeel seemed oblivious to what he had said. "I'll see you back at the hotel... Take care, Levy."

And with that, Levy, Jet, and Droy were sent off into the sky. Gajeel turned to face his enemy, finally free of distractions. Cracking his knuckles, he turned his arms into a giant spiky club and a chainsaw. He advanced, smirking, toward the enemy.

'_Let's see what this bitch is made of._'

* * *

**So... yet another crappy chapter by me, the author! I really apologize for such a crappy chapter! If you were disappointed, please tell me in a PM, review, or you may punch me in the face, either one. I'm afraid that Erza, Natsu, and basically everyone else I included in the story turned out to be very OOC in this chapter, and I apologize. If you guys are missing Gray, Happy, Juvia, Wendy, or other people from Fairy Tail, I'll be including them next chapter.**

**But wow. I'm just... I'm blown away by how many new people have read/reviewed/favorited/subscribed to FF! I just want to say a really big thank you to everyone out there that is reading this right now. Seriously, thank you so much!**

**Also, I'm having a poll on some upcoming fanfic ideas of mine and I want to see if any of them appeal to the readers. If you wanna check it out, just go to my profile and it'll be there. You can choose up to 3 stories, and each of them has a description after the title.**

**Remember to review! Thank you so much!**


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